Job 7
1 Is not the life of man upon earth a state of trial? and his existence as that of a hireling by the day?
“Isn't life for human beings like serving a sentence of hard labor? Don't their days pass like those of a hired laborer?
2 Or as a servant that fears his master, and one who has grasped a shadow? or as a hireling waiting for his pay?
Like some slave longing for a bit of shade, like a hired hand anxiously waiting for pay day,
3 So have I also endured months of vanity, and nights of pain have been appointed me.
I've been given months of emptiness and nights of misery.
4 Whenever I lie down, I say, When [will it be] day? and whenever I rise up, again [I say] when [will it be] evening? and I am full of pains from evening to morning.
When I go to bed I ask, ‘When shall I get up?’ But the night goes on and on, and I toss and turn until dawn.
5 And my body is covered with loathsome worms; and I waste away, scraping off clods of dust from my eruption.
My body is covered with maggots and caked in dirt; my skin is cracked, with oozing sores.
6 And my life is lighter than a word, and has perished in vain hope.
My days pass quicker than a weaver's shuttle and they come to an end without hope.
7 Remember then that my life is breath, and mine eye shalt not yet again see good.
Remember that my life is just a breath; I will not see happiness again.
8 The eye of him that sees me shall not see me [again]: thine eyes are upon me, and I am no more.
Those watching me won't see me anymore; your eyes will be looking for me, but I will be gone.
9 [I am] as a cloud that is cleared away from the sky: for if a man go down to the grave, he shall not come up again: (Sheol h7585)
When a cloud disappears, it's gone, just as anyone who goes down to Sheol does not come back up. (Sheol h7585)
10 and he shall surely not return to his own house, neither shall his place know him any more.
They will never return home, and the people they knew will forget them.
11 Then neither will I refrain my mouth: I will speak being in distress; being in anguish I will disclose the bitterness of my soul.
So, no, I won't hold my tongue—I will speak in the agony of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I a sea, or a serpent, that thou hast set a watch over me?
Am I the sea or a sea monster that you have to guard me?
13 I said that my bed should comfort me, and I would privately counsel with myself on my couch.
If I tell myself, ‘I'll feel better if I lie down in my bed,’ or ‘it will help me to lie down on my couch,’
14 Thou scarest me with dreams, and dost terrify me with visions.
then you scare me so much with dreams and terrify me with visions
15 Thou wilt separate life from my spirit; and yet [keep] my bones from death.
that I would rather be strangled—I would rather die than become just a bag of bones.
16 For I shall not live for ever, that I should patiently endure: depart from me, for my life [is] vain.
I hate my life! I know I won't live long. Leave me alone because my life is just a breath.
17 For what is man, that thou hast magnified him? or that thou givest heed to him?
Why are human beings so important to you; why are you so concerned about them
18 Wilt thou visit him till the morning, and judge him till [the time of] rest?
that you inspect them every morning and test them every moment? Won't you ever stop staring at me?
19 How long dost thou not let me alone, nor let me go, until I shall swallow down my spittle?
Won't you ever leave me alone long enough to catch my breath?
20 If I have sinned, what shall I be able to do, O thou that understandest the mind of men? why hast thou made me as thine accuser, and [why] am I a burden to thee?
What have I done wrong? What have I done to you, Watcher of Humanity? Why have you made me your target, so that I'm a burden even to myself?
21 Why hast thou not forgotten my iniquity, and purged my sin? but now I shall depart to the earth; and in the morning I am no more.
If so why don't you pardon my sins, and take away my guilt? Right now I'm going to lie down in the dust, and though you will look for me, I will be gone.”
